Lullaby
by press here
Summary: Changing his diapers and singing him to sleep were Uzuki Yuugao's first assignments on the job. The song she sang to him was a melancholy tune of murder and hatred.
1. Chapter 1

_Uzumaki Naruto did not live his entire life alone. Contrary to his own beliefs, he actually __does__ have some semblance of an adopted family that predates his attachments to Team 7 and Umino Iruka. _

_His first few years were spent in the care of the ANBU. Every single one of them wore their masks around him at all times. Changing his diapers and singing him to sleep were Uzuki Yuugao's first assignments on the job. The song she sang to him was a melancholy tune of murder and hatred. _

_To this day, Naruto still finds himself compelled to want to hum the tune every time he sees someone in an ANBU mask. _

_Catch 22 by The Sh33p_

**Lullaby**

The halls were eerily quiet as she headed towards the hokage's office. The constant shuffling of her clad feet against the stone floors echoed into the night, disrupting the preceding silence. The murmurs of civilians and shinobi alike no longer filled the Hokage tower; instead, families remained in their homes, meaning only to mourn the loss of the Yondaime and for many, the loss of brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers.

It was now, in the aftermath of the Yondaime's funeral, that Uzuki Yuugao found herself called to the Sandaime's office to receive an S-class mission. The porcelain mask of the ANBU covered her face, painting her with the image of a cat, strands of hair the colour of the ripest of grapes adorning her head. She moved with the grace of Konohagakure's elite shinobi.

As she reached the doors to the hokage's chambers, she was met by his two guardsmen. Both sported bluish bruises under their eyes, signs of lack of sleep and endless mourning. They nodded as she passed by them, entering the room and the large oak doors closed behind her with a light thud, leaving her faced with the aged, wizened form of the Sandaime. The old man held his head in his arms, but at the sound of Yuugao's approach, he quickly straightened in his chair.

"Uzuki Yuugao."

Yuugao, briefly bowed before straightening and facing the aging man.

"Hokage-sama."

The ruler of the Village Hidden Among Tree Leaves let out a tired sigh, getting out of the chair and moving to stand near the large window that overlooked the whole village.

"Surely, you have heard of the Kyuubi's new vessel?"

The ANBU frowned, what did the Kyuubi child have to do with her first mission as member of Konoha's elite?

"Uzumaki Naruto? Of course, but why does the child concern my first mission?"

"He is your first mission. You have the task of caring for his needs and protecting him from the assassins who are sure to come."

Yuugao kept in silence, trying to comprehend the hokage's words. Her first mission as an ANBU would be to baby-sit the vessel of the nine tailed fox.

"It is very important that you keep him safe. He is the Yondaime's legacy."

"You want me to baby-sit a child."

Sarutobi turned to face her, meeting her black eyes with his own sad, dark gaze.

"Please Yuugao."

Yuugao nodded, not completely certain of how this whole ordeal would go down, but ready to do anything for the Sandaime. The man had seen the cration of Konoha through young, unexperienced eyes, and now he watched its fall from grace through old, wise eyes.

"Of course, sir."

………………ll……………

It was only five days after her meeting with the hokage that Yuugao truly met Uzumaki Naruto. He lay in a small wooden crib, a tiny child with wisps of golden hair and hazy blue eyes. He had not been fed since morning and his diaper was full and filling the small rundown apartment with a nauseous smell.

Yuugao did not now what to think of the child. Many of her colleagues that had seen the destruction brought upon Konoha by the Kyuubi wanted the death of the vessel, whilst others wanted him to be seen as a hero. To the young kunoichi however, he was neither demon nor saviour, now he was a babe with no parents and no future.

She did not usually feel pity for anyone, a trait brought upon her by the ANBU, but she could understand the pain the vessel was going through. The loss of parents and lack of family was something no child should have to endure, none. She had felt the pain, the loneliness, and she did not want another to also.

That did not mean she wantednto become Naruto's family. She would have rather watched him from afar, guiding him silently.

A sharp cry cut through her thoughts as Naruto cried out in hunger. She quickly got him out of his crib ( were all children this tiny?) and headed for the kitchen where she fed him the milk in the fridge.

As he ate, eyes watching her warily, confused but hopeful, she knew that this change in plans would only be for the better.

In the night, when the moon replaced the sun in the sky, Yuugao sat down in the old rocking chair and sang a lullaby to the small child in her arms, playing with locks of her hair.

It was a tune of melancholy and hatred, a tune every shinobi would come accosumed to. She sang it with a gentle, sweet voice and rocked the baby whose life would be consumed by the emotions in the song.

"Hush little baby, the demons are gone, mommy's not here, she's gone away. There's no more pain, so don't you cry, you will avenge your mothers life."

She sang 'till he fell into deep sleep, before settling him back into the small crib.

"Goodnight Naruto."

_AN: I don't know whether or not this is a one-shot, only reviews will tell…or not/ _


	2. Chapter 2

**A /N: While I didn't actually get any reviews (****sucks…********) I did get a lot of hits so I decided to make this multi-chapter.**

**Comfort. **

The gentle wind carried the scent of smoke and ashes, clinging to her as she jumped from tree to tree. A porcelain mask covered her face, hiding her pale countenance and the tears that threatened to fall. Each leap brought her closer to him, and that single thought kept her from succumbing to the anger, hatred and sadness that would surely consume her.

The gashes on her body, the splattering of blood on her ANBU uniform, all meant nothing, not when she was alive and _they_ were dead. Strands of dark hair caught the moonlight, whipping at her face as she reached the gate of Konoha. The imposing structure shone the colour of freshly spilt blood in the darkness, even as shadows threatened to mask it with obscurity. It symbolised all that Konohagakure truly was, what all shinobi fought for, what she fought for. This was her village; she would give her life for its protection.

But it hurt.

The cries of her team-mates echoed in her mind, repeating continuously, mocking her, torturing. All shinobi became accustomed to death; one sacrifice was but the key to the hidden village's protection. As a kunoichi, as an ANBU, she should now this, but it did not diminish the pain of losing all her team-mates in one fell swoop. To know that she should be amongst them, but another name on the memorial stone, only made the whole ordeal so much worse.

She quickly bypassed the guards and ANBU, heading directly for the Hokage tower. Midnight had struck mere moments ago and so when she entered the village, drunkards, vagabonds and delinquents roaming the streets was the sight that greeted her. She did not dare roam the streets with them, instead jumping onto the thick rooftops.

She reached the tower in a matter of seconds, stopping to face the structure that loomed over the whole village. In the pale moonlight, the tower seemed to command a presence, demanding respect. As she entered it, she was greeted by an onslaught of noise. Shinobi and civilians filled the hokage's offices, working, talking, sleeping. She ignored the various calls of her name( or rather mask) and entered the last hall to the right and came once more to the oak doors that hid the Hokage away from unwanted visitors.

She gently opened the doors before stepping into the large room. Her eyes immediately caught the Hokage's worried gaze.

"Uzuki-chan"

"Hokage-sama."

"Report."

Yuugao took a small breath before explaining the events that had lead to her early arrival. She told of the mistakes made by the newest member of the ANBU, a cocky jounin who had received much too much praise, that had eventually led to their fall into a trap. She told of the new jutsu that had eliminated all her team-mates at once, told how her life was spared by but a simple miscalculation.

The Sandaime listened to it all attentively, dark eyes becoming blank and face betraying the many years of stress and grief. He said nothing until she had finished the whole report.

"Do you know the exact name of the jutsu?"

"No."

The truth was that a bright blue light and the sound of thousands of footsteps on a hollow surface was all she remembered of the jutsu. The handseals had been done at a speed impossible to follow, and the attackers had masked their chakra signatures as well as their bodies.

"No, I don't."

Sarutobi sighed before dismissing her, waiting for the sound of a shutting door before settling his head in his hands. Yuugao did not waste time, heading directly for the streets of Konoha, jumping to the roofs and continuing to the darker districts of the village. Her body ached with every leap, but she paid the pain no heed.

The ANBU quickly reached a rundown apartment, crooked in the moonlight and a representation of what was lost during the battle against Kyuubi. Running up the wall and stooping near a small grimy window, Yuugao is painfully aware of the cries of an infant, and when she enters the equally small apartment, she catches a small foul. Immediately, it is obvious no one has been with the child for hours.

She neared the small wooden crib and bent over to face the small creature that lay inside. Naruto's face was red from crying and tear tracks were apparent on his dirty face. At the sound of Yuugao's approach, the tears turned into sniffles and the eyes widened to show brilliant blue pupils.

"Kasaa"

He held up tiny arms and his tiny voice echoed throughout the rather empty apartment. Yuugao did not smile when she reached to pick him up, she did not laugh when he played in her hair, and instead she buried her face in the nine month olds downy blonde hair, taking a breath of the familiar soap she used to wash him.

The soft hair tickled her nose, and Naruto occasionally tugged too harshly on the hair clutched in his small fists, but Yuugoa did not mind. How could she when he was tucked safely in her arms, when it was him holding onto those stands of hair.

She took another shaky breath and held him closer.

He was her comfort, the only thing that kept her from breaking down. The life of an ANBU was never easy, never comfortable, and yet when she had him in her hands she felt all the expectations, all the grief disappear.

This was not meant to have happened, he should have remained just another mission to take care of, but she had let him crawl into her heart.

"Kasaa, kasaaa, kasaaa!"

She smiled into the strands of golden hair, while moving to the kitchen.

"Naruto, Naruto, Naruto."


End file.
